Friday, July 31, 2015

After the HoH competition, things started to settle down a little, and attention turned to Julia, the latest addition to the house. After meeting with Liz in the Hammock Room for a brief update on the week she missed while in sequester, Julia made her way to the bathroom where Johnny Mac was finishing up his shower.

Julia: Johnny Mac...I'm so mad at you for talking about my tooth-ah!

(Johnny Mac had noticed that Julia had a fake tooth in the "#9" spot, and after he became aware of the Twin Twist he confirmed that Liz didn't have a fake tooth.)

Johnny: No, but when I asked you about it I thought there would be a cool story about the cap, like an accident or something---I didn't know about the Twin thing.

Julia: It's not a cap though.

Johnny: It's an implant.

Julia, clearly delighted by all of this: Exactly! It's an implant.

Johnny It's a cap over an implant.

Julia told him that she was in the fourth grade and she was chasing after a boy when she ran into a pole and cracked it.

Julia: That's the last time I ever chased a boy....Christian Hill. Oh, I guess I shouldn't say his name.

Liz: No, you can't say his name.

Julia got into a lot of technical detail about the dental errors made by the dentist, and all of the repairs upon repairs she needed to fix it over the years. John recognized everything she said though, and even finished some of her sentences.

Julia: I had a fake piece while they made a new one...

John: A flipper.

Julia: Yas! A flipper!

She told a story about going on a date and the flipper breaking during dinner and how she called her mother.

John: Yeah...those aren't really made for eating.

Julia: Johnny Mac I was a dental assistant for about four months! I couldn't tell you but I said some things to you that I shouldn't have one time because Liz doesn't know anything about teeth. I know because I went through hell with my #9 tooth.

John: Yeah, that's a tough one to fix, aesthetically.

Julia: That's how I know every fucking dentist is crazy!

Johnny laughs and wants to know where she worked.

Julia: I don't want to say...but it was in New Orleans...and that lady was crazy...she was always yelling at me!

Austin is mostly quiet, watching Julia's personality emerge, and the way she interacts with Liz.

Julia tells Johnny more about her tooth, and apparently the fake tooth was way too big, but under the gum line is where the extra space is, or whatever.

Steve asks Julia to tell them about herself. Julia tells them about her job as an intern at a marketing firm. Steve asked about details so she says they do events for clients like a liquor company client. She just did a big event at Art Basel, and also at Miami fashion week.

Julia majored in journalism, and Liz majored in marketing. She does have an older sister named Angela, she says, who is 10 months older.

(Damn...their mother was in Diaper City for awhile, wasn't she?)

Johnny Mac listens and the camera zooms in, watching him.

Is Johnny Mac looking at her #9 tooth?

Or is Johnny Mac falling in love?

His hair looks good tonight, that's for sure.

In the kitchen the Have Nots have less than an hour before they can eat, so Clay is cooking what looks like a whole flock of chickens for them. He asked Steve what he wanted on his chicken breast, since he is such a picky eater.

Steve: When it comes to food, I don't want anything on it. The less flavor, the better.

(Wow. Just wow.)

Clay went through a list of spices and herbs, but Steve didn't want any of them. Clay said he would leave two of the chicken breasts plain for Steve. I'm sure it was hard for him. Clay knows how to season food, so Steve's palate must be bewildering to him.

In the bedroom Julia unpacks and shows Liz some of the clothes she brought. She also mentioned that their mom had to spend a lot of money to buy matching clothes for the two of them, so they could carry out the twist.

Liz told her she wore a squirrel costume, so Julia went over to the corner to look at it.

Liz: The tail is deflated now, but it was big and fluffy.

Julia: Wait...what?

She shifted it around, trying to figure it out.

Julia: I can't believe you wore this...this is terrible! Did you have some boots on?

Liz explained again about how physical the competition was, with all of the running back and forth.

Austin is still trying to absorb everything. He's being kind of quiet, actually. Maybe he's on his best behavior tonight. You know, around the New Girl.

I feel I must point out that he was very cocky on Wednesday night, saying that he would "pull an Evel Dick" during the HoH competition to intimidate either James or Jackie if it looked like they would win the HoH. He sure talked a lot of smack about that.

Becky said Julia's picture was so beautiful, she didn't want her picture to be right next to it.

Julia: It just sucks for Jace, that they swapped him out with me.

Clay hums as he cooks. It's relaxing for him, I think. I don't think Clay has any idea that half of the house already knows that he and Shelli will be nominated tomorrow.

He may not know about that, but he does know that this baked potato is ready to eat.

Shelli agrees, and starts loading up her plate. Instead of sour cream, Shelli opts for ketchup, reasoning that people put ketchup on french fries, so it makes sense to her.

Steve enjoys his plain chicken, too, but the cameras don't show him eating. We can see Audrey grinning right over Clay's shoulder. Maybe she had a dream about this all happening this week.

Vanessa came in and bounced a beach ball right next to Shelli's head. While Shelli's been flirting and getting ready to eat, Vanessa has been meeting with James and making sure she's safe. Sure, Vanessa should be a threat, but she happens to be aligned with the biggest threats in the house, which happen to be a duo and a trio.

And that's why Vanessa is a bad ass. She's already playing chess three moves ahead.

There was a lot of tension in the house last night, because the power was shifting and people were scared. Everybody had a plan to for what to do with this weeks' Battle of the Block, but no one imagined that would not be an issue this week.

It's hard for me to imagine that they still think they can execute a plan for someone to "throw" a competition successfully. It hasn't happened yet, now has it?

Shelli and Clay started to get rumblings about James going after a power pair last night, and I think they started to get an uneasy feeling. And the fact that they seem to be taking most of the blame for Vanessa backdooring Jason is a constant source of anger for Shelli, too.

I think Vanessa has had a few beach balls in the air for awhile now. And it looks like the ball is bouncing in a certain direction so she is going to play in that direction. Because Vanessa has options, and tools for each option. She may be playing with a little risk each week, say 27%, but that's better than having a week where you are 99% sure you're leaving, like Jason just did.

OK. On Friday morning James had to choose the three Have Nots. He didn't have to do that, because he had three volunteers.

Liz: The AusTwins will volunteer! We'll do it!

The extra food that Production is giving them to eat is "Lollislops". Basically, a lot of lollipops in various basic and exotic flavors.

Liz is not happy. Nor Julia, I guess. One of them complained, saying that there was no nutritional value in lollipops at all. She opened one to taste it and said it didn't even taste good.

Pretty sure it was Julia, complaining like that.

Julia Uh. Bring back the Slopcorn, please!

Steve analyzes the laminated card that James had to read and says that the Slollipops were given by Production, not by a vote from America.

(They are wondering what America has been voting on,,which makes them suspicious of a Team America or something like that.)

Later on, nominations were held and Clay and Shelli were nominated. They are very upset and the tension is thick. It sounds like Clay lost his temper during the nomination ceremony, angry at James for breaking his promise to Shelli. And it sounds like Shelli said something at the nomination ceremony that Vanessa feels was throwing her under the bus.

I don't know what deals they may have made overnight, but when Shelli was doing her rushed negotiations from her perch on the cliff, she only asked that she and Clay would not be backdoored. Not nominated, but backdoored. I thought that was decent of her, accepting some level of risk, but for her not to expect even a nomination was a poor choice of words.

And she did it in such a hurry, not even laying out the rules. Shelli was about to fall off any second that's the real truth. James didn't really need a deal with her at all, and could have abstained.

In other seasons the people on The Wall have asked the other house guests to go in the house so they can talk in private. At the very least, Shelli should have insisted on some privacy before she broadcast that she was arranging for Clay's safety, too.

That was clumsy of her. And overly-confident. Doesn't she know that showmances are targeted? Neither Jeff and Jordan nor Brenchal ever made it to the end together. But in this case, I don't think the male half of the showmance will leave first.

Just a guess.

Clay is angry, and wants to go right up there and confront James. Shelli makes him promise he will keep his temper, because he can ruin their game if he loses it.

Shelli: I don't want to be here without you Clay...I don't want to be here.

Clay: Now don't say that..

(Shelli might be the one leaving, not Clay.)

Shelli: I don't care who I throw under the bus now...

Clay says he'll leave for her, if he has to, but Shelli doesn't want to hear him say that. She tries to calm them both by pointing out that they have the numbers to stay, if they can get one of them off the block.

Shelli immediately says that she wants to get Austin backdooored, and points out that they need to keep Vanessa close, because she is so smart and trustworthy.

But just a few minutes later Clay says he doesn't like how the whole Jason situation got blamed on the two of them, when Vanessa was the HoH.

Shelli: Yeah! There was no need for her to point the blame in our direction.

Clay: And you know how she can make you think things, without actually saying them.

(I'll bet Vanessa will make sure Clay leaves this week, based on sentiments like these. Shelli has a better chance of staying on her side alone then Clay does. And a better track record with competitions too.)

Vanessa visited the two of them, and wanted to know why they didn't hug her after the ceremony ended.

Vanessa: I was standing there with my arms out and you just walked by!

Clay: We're the ones on the fucking block!

Shelli tells Vanessa that she is sitting pretty while the two of them are getting the blame for voting out Jason. Shelli says the Sixth Sense is over.

Vanessa: You're going to hurt your game! If you want to fight, we will!

Shelli tries to calm her but she storms out, upset. Clay and Shelli stay in the Hammock Room. Shelli tries to calm Clay, saying they have to keep Vanessa on their side, but she's emotional and they can't upset her.

Vanessa goes outside and tells Austin and The Twins what just happened. They put their stories together to explain the things that Shelli is so upset about.

Austin: What do we do if Shelli tries to blow us up? Deny, deny, deny?

Both Twins are out there, discussing this. Vanessa says she needs to think to figure out specifics, and the three of them agree to wait for direction from her before reacting too strongly.

Vanessa goes into the kitchen where Meg and Jackie are enjoying sandwiches. Somehow Vanessa puts on a performance that she is working alone in the house. She refers to what happened during the nomination ceremony as learning she was the low person on that three-person totem pole.

Meg: I can see that you feel alone in here. We can relate to that.

(Because fucking Vanessa evicted both Jason and Jeff! And Meg is apologizing to her for what Shelli and Clay just did to Vanessa. It's brilliant, really.)

Both Meg and Jackie are crunching the hell out of those potato chips. After talking to them Vanessa decides to have a sandwich, too, and thinks them for laying out the sandwich bar stuff..

Vanessa; I would never put all of this on here...thank you.

(Vanessa has said she never cooks at home because it takes too much time. She just snacks instead, and says sometimes her girlfriend comes in to bring her food because she knows Vanessa won't go out of her way to eat.)

Note that I heard James tell Shelli and Clay that he feels alone in the game, and that he and Meg aren't as close as everybody thinks.

James: She was close to Jeff, and then Jason, and now she's getting latched on to Jackie. It's never me.

Johnny Mac had a chat with Becky in the bedroom. I never hear him talk about the game, and it was a little disjointed, but I think he was saying that he felt hoodwinked by Clay and Shelli. He had no idea that they were behind so many evictions in the house, he says.

In a very roundabout way, John implied that he might as well work with Jackie, James and Meg, since he already feels like he is friends with them, anyway. They both agree that they've never really talked game before.

I don't know what it was, but I think it was a bridge-building conversation.

Shelli approached Vanessa in the bathroom, apologizing for her outburst and begging for forgiveness. Vanessa was tough on her at first, but then came at her with a realistic speech, about how Shelli needs to toughen up and get ready to fight.

Vanessa: Do you have any idea how tough it is to play with a showmance? Do you? I don't think anyone could do it like I have in here!

Vanessa encouraged her to be strong, that there is only $500,000 to win, and she can do it, she can win. Shelli has a better chance of winning $500,000 on her own, then blowing both of their games just so one of them can win another $50,000 (i.e. Final Two).

Shelli: But this is the worst week! Because if one of us leaves this week it will split us up! It's the worst, because if I was leaving any other time I could be happy that I was going to him in the Jury house!

Vanessa gave Shelli a pep talk, which included the following:

* America must love Shelli, because she's America's Sweetheart.
* Brenchal was split up in the game both times they played together, and look at them now.
* Vanessa is having to be away from Mel, whom she loves and misses everyday, but she's doing it. She's playing.
* Shelli and Clay might really have something together, but love isn't easy to come by in the BB house, and if that comes along with the experience, that's great.
* She told Shelli that the two of them would have each other in Jury, and they would get through it together.

Obviously Shelli is feeling some real stuff for Clay. Or she thinks she does. I'm a little worried about that, particularly if Clay is about to be released into the wild before Jury.

(Doesn't Jessie live in Texas? And a bunch of other hot bitches?)

Let's salute Shelli for looking so pretty today. She's had a rough one, but she's holding up well in the hair and make up department.

Liz: Look, we're not in a good spot right now. James might put us both up. I'm worried.

Julia: I've had six days to marinate on this, and I need to tell you everything that happened before I left.

Liz tells her she needs to whisper and stop talking in her normal voice. Lucky for us, they whisper in a very loud way.

(Unlike the Dani Donato-type whispering of yesteryear. Good god that was bad. Good whispering, but bad for people trying to overhear...)

Julia starts telling the story about how Jason pulled together a big group in the bathroom, telling them that Austin wanted to target Julia as soon as she came in the house. (Not sure if she believes Jason, though.)

Julia: Vanessa and I both thought she should tell you later, so you would be able to focus on doing well in the competition...which you did, anyway...

LIz tells her the thought process behind keeping Austin in the game this week, that their alliance needed to keep a number, and that he will be on their side.

Liz: Look, he's obsessed with me.

Julia: I just hope you are going to be more loyal to me than to him.

Liz: Of course! That's why I told him I'm sleeping in the bed with you now! I don't know where he's going to sleep now.

Julia: I don't trust him. He disgusts me. I can't be nice to him. I can't fake it and I don't believe anything he says.

Liz: But listen...we're not playing Bad Girls Club. You have to be nice to everybody in this house. Remember that...

Julia: I know.

Liz: You can't just go around saying "I'm going to punch him in the face". That's not the appropriate way to play the game. I know you hate him, but you have to suck-it-the-fuck-up.

Julia, breathing: Okay. But what is he saying? Everything he says is so stupid!

Liz wishes she could have talked to Julia after the BoB. She says James is "the enemy" and she's really scared right now. She goes through how big their alliance is, and says they added Steve, but they lost power this week.

Liz: This is the worst thing that could have happened...I'm shitting bricks right now...do you understand that I put him up on the block? And now we don't have BoB anymore. We do have the PoV, but it was so hard last week! I got randomly picked to play, but it was so hard! And the comps are only going to get harder from now on!

Liz: I only found out about everything after the comp...and he's all over me, rubbing me and everyone says we fight like an old couple. I don't like him!

Liz: I always hang out with him when you're not here...he's my best friend..so whatever. I wish we had more time to talk.

Julia: We have lots of time. Everybody knows we haven't seen each other in days.

Liz: If Johnny Mac had won we'd be fine...that's why I hate this game, you can go from Cloud Nine to this!

Julia: Whatever Liz.

Julia wants to hear everything about the BoB competition. Liz starts talking but jumps all over, telling her about the paint and Outback Steakhouse.

Julia: You're all over the place.

Liz tells her that the other team was guessing BB16 names but they both had trouble. Production told them that if the either side hadn't gotten anything in 15 minutes, they would receive information. We get periodic FISH as she describes the Production intervention to move the comp along. She describes how James went slow on purpose, and how she knows he tried to throw it.

I think it is important to note that the Have Nots performed in that competition without eating real food. Not so impressive for Steve, who dropped right around the time Austin did, but it was a very good showing for both Clay and Shelli. If the little rock climbing knobs were placed higher up, I think Clay could have won, due to his upper arm strength.

But having a lower center of gravity definitely helped James. Vanessa is laying in the purple room, talking to him. He admits that his military training helped him, and he kept thinking about all the crap he went through in basic training.

Vanessa: Yeah. I was thinking about how they squirt you guys in the face while you train, right?

James: I could have gone a lot longer up there.

James is humble and calm.

Shelli, however, is on edge and asks Vanessa to come talk to her. She says she needs someone to talk to, so they go in the Have Not room.

This is really the first time this summer that Shelli has not had an advantage in the game. And we will soon see how she handles the stress of being targeted, or just in fear of being targeted.

Shelli: When we walked out there and saw the set up, I thought I would never be able to do it,and would be one of the first ones out. And I was thinking, I don't want to be HoH a third time and have that target on me. I was just going to let someone else from our group win. But then people started falling, and I felt like I had to hang on...

Shelli: And then there I was, the only girl still left up there. And I made a deal for me and Clay...I thought about adding you, too..

Vanessa: No, you did the right thing.

(NO WAY would Vanessa have wanted to be part of that deal. NO WAY. HELL TO THE NO.)

Clay came in and I knew Vanessa DID NOT want to be seen huddled up in that room with them. She assured them that they would be safe this week because James would stand by the deal, and that if anybody needs to worry, it would be herself and the Twins.

(Do you think James will stand by the deal? I don't. For one thing, Shelli bargained for "no backdoors"--even if he stuck by his word, he could nominate both of them straight up.)

After Vanessa left the room, Shelli told Clay she feels so bad, and guilty for not winning. She's worried about Vanessa's safety.

Clay assures her she will be fine, and he actually wanted her to drop earlier because winning a third HoH wasn't a good look for her.

Clay: The other members of our alliance should have hung on longer. They can't depend on you to win every week.

Meanwhile, Julia is in the shower telling Liz and Austin about being on stage with Julie Chen during the live show. Production isn't thrilled about this conversation.

Julia: She said, hey everybody this is Julia, and she asked me if I was nervous.

Liz: Well, yeah.

FISH.

Julia: And then she told me you won Battle of the Block.

Liz: Yeah.

FISH.

Julia: And then she said, okay you can go into the house. So I went in the door, and there was a beefcake waiting for me, and I was crying...

FISH

Julia:.....and I was like, shitting bricks.

Liz: You need to put on a bra.

Julia: Oh my god-ah! That's so rude.

Austin snickers, enjoying this.

Liz: Well they yelled at me! That's why they gave us a million of those little nipple petals.